Gate assembly for diverting articles and the like

ABSTRACT

A gate assembly for diverting substantially flat articles is provided. The gate assembly comprises a mounting bracket having an upright support member and a mounting member secured to the upright support member and a diverter vane having a slot for slidably receiving at least a portion of the upright support member of the mounting bracket. A motion mechanism secured to the mounting bracket for selectively moving the combined mounting bracket and diverter vane thereby diverting the articles to a predetermined desired location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a gate assembly for divertingarticles and the like and, more particularly, the invention relates to agate assembly for diverting mail and other substantially flat articlesin a sorting machine.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Machines for automatically sorting flat articles, such as mail, into oneof an array of selected bins or compartments, are known. Typically, suchsorting machines have a feeding station, including an intake drivemember such as a rubber-covered wheel or belt, sensing and detectingequipment for determining the appropriate output compartment for thearticle to be sorted, diverting gates or other article directingmechanisms, and an array of output compartments or bins for the sortedarticles. An example of a conventional sorting machine is the DBSCIIsorting device, available from Siemens ElectroCom, L. P., Arlington,Tex.

To feed articles into the sorting machine, an operator positions abundle of mail to be sorted and shakes or jostles the mail to generallyalign the bottom edges, making a stack, either horizontal or vertical.The operator then places the stack of mail against the feed member ofthe sorting machine. The feed member then feeds the articles into thesorting machine, one at a time, to be sorted in the sorting machine.

In postal and credit operations, as well as other mass document handlingdevices, certain documents and envelopes are coded using a bar codeand/or optical character keying and printing module, and thereafter thedocuments are sorted by using a bar code or optical character reader anda sorter. Certain sorting systems in current use also employ image liftaddress verification units, which electronically recreate the addressinformation normally found on one side of a document, piece of mail, orpackage.

At the output of the sorting machine, the sorted articles are routed tothe appropriate receiving compartments or bins by diverter gates wherethe sorted articles are stacked. The feeding and sorting of articlescontinues until one or more of the receiving compartments becomesufficiently full of a stack of sorted articles or mail. When thereceiving compartment is full, an operator removes a stack of the sortedarticles from the full compartment and places the stack of articles intoa box. This removal of stacked articles may be termed “sweeping” of thecompartment. The stack of sorted articles placed by the operator into abox can be further reprocessed through the same sorting machine, can betransferred to another sorting machine for additional sorting, or can betransported to a delivery person, such as a mail carrier, or may betransmitted for ultimate delivery to the intended location, address orrecipient when all desired sorting is completed.

Although automatic sorting machines have improved prior processes formanual article sorting, the weak point of the sorting machines is thediverter gates which direct the mail or articles to the appropriatereceiving compartments. The diverter gates are typically comprised of avane pivotally mounted to a bracket controlled by a solenoid. Thepivoting of the vane about the bracket diverts the articles to thedesired bin or location. Over time, due to the wear of the articlespassing through and against the vanes, the vane of the diverter gatefrequently chips or otherwise becomes damaged and must be repairedand/or replaced. As currently designed, changing or replacing thediverter gates is a time consuming and costly endeavor since the sortingmachine must be shut down during the repair and replacement of the vane.

Accordingly, there exists a need for a gate assembly for divertingarticles and the like which can be easily maintained. Additionally, aneed exists for a gate assembly for diverting articles and the likewhich has a vane mounted to a bracket with the vane being easily mountedand removed from the vane when necessary.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a gate assembly for diverting substantiallyflat articles. The gate assembly comprises a mounting bracket having anupright support member and a mounting member secured to the uprightsupport member and a diverter vane having a slot for slidably receivingat least a portion of the upright support member of the mountingbracket. A motion mechanism secured to the mounting bracket forselectively moving the combined mounting bracket and diverter vanethereby diverting the articles to a predetermined desired location.

The present invention additionally includes a gate device for divertingand directing articles in a sorting machine. The gate device comprises abracket member mounted to the sorting machine. A vane member is mountedto the bracket member with the vane member removable from and mountableto the bracket member without removing the bracket member from thesorting machine wherein combined bracket member and the vane memberselectively movable to direct the articles to a predetermined desiredlocation.

The present invention further includes a method for replacing a divertervane in a sorting machine. The method comprises providing a brackethaving an upright support member and a mounting member secured to theupright support member, releasably mounting the diverter vane on atleast a portion of the upright support member of the bracket, andreleasably securing the diverter vane on the bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a gate assembly,constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the gateassembly having a diverter vane mountable to a mounting bracket;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the mounting bracket of thegate assembly, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating the mounting bracket of the gateassembly of FIG. 2, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating the mounting bracket of the gateassembly of FIG. 2, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is an end view illustrating the mounting bracket of the gateassembly of FIG. 2, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the vane of the gate assembly,constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a top view illustrating the diverter vane of the gate assemblyof FIG. 6, constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating the diverter vane of the gateassembly of FIG. 6, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention; and

FIG. 9 is an end view illustrating the diverter vane of the gateassembly of FIG. 6, constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is a gate assembly,indicated generally at 10, for diverting substantially flat articles(not shown) and the like during sorting and/or distribution of thesubstantially flat articles. The gate assembly 10 of the presentinvention can be used on automatic sorting machines (not shown) andother machines used for diverting and sorting substantially flatarticles such as mail, checks, invoices, papers, etc.

The gate assembly 10 of the present invention includes a diverter vane12 mountable to a mounting bracket 14. The diverter vane 12 and themounting bracket 14 are preferably constructed from a plastic materialalthough constructing the diverter vane 12 and the mounting bracket 14from other materials including, but not limited to, metal, ceramic,wood, etc., is within the scope of the present invention.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the mounting bracket 14 is mounted to asolenoid 16 or other control means for controlling the movement of themounting bracket 14 and the diverter vane 12 relative to the solenoid16. The solenoid 16 includes sufficient electronics causing andcontrolling the selective movement of the mounting bracket 14 anddiverter vane 12 to direct the substantially flat articles to apredetermined, desired destination.

The solenoid 16 further includes a rotatable mounting post 18 forreceiving the mounting bracket 14. As the solenoid 16 rotates themounting post 18 in response to commands for particular articlemovement, the mounting bracket 14 also moves accordingly. A springmember (not shown) is positioned between the solenoid 16 and themounting post 18 causing the mounting bracket 14 to return to a startposition after the selective movement by the solenoid 16.

The mounting post 18 of the solenoid 16 has a first mounting post end 20and a second mounting post end 22. As illustrated in FIGS. 2-5, themounting bracket 14 includes a substantially circular upright support 24having a first end 26 and a second end 28 and a mounting body 30 securedto the upright support 24 along the length of the upright support 24.First mounting means 32 are formed on the mounting body 30 adjacent thefirst end 26 of the upright support 24. The first mounting means 32preferably includes a D-shaped aperture 34 for receiving the firstmounting post end 20 of the mounting post 18. Preferably, the firstmounting post end 20 of the mounting post 18 has a similar configurationto allow a snug fit between the first mounting means 32 and the mountingpost 18 such that upon rotation of the mounting post 18, the mountingbracket 14 rotates in a similar manner.

Second mounting means 36 are formed on the mounting body 30 adjacent thesecond end 28 of the upright support 24. The second mounting means 36 ofthe mounting bracket 14 preferably includes a slot 38 for receiving thesecond mounting post end 22 of the mounting post 18. A complementarymounting piece (not shown) is positioned about the second mounting postend 22. A pair of aligned apertures 40 in the second mounting means 36of the mounting bracket 14 and the mounting piece receives screws (notshown) or the like for securing the second mounting post end 22 of themounting post 18 therebetween.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-9, the diverter vane 12 includes asubstantially keyhole-shaped slot 42 extending along the length of thediverter vane 12. The upright support 24 and at least a portion of themounting body 30 of the mounting bracket 14 are received within thekeyhole-shaped slot 42 of the diverter vane 12. Securement meansincluding, but not limited to, E-rings 44, are mounted within annulargrooves 46 about each end of the upright support 24 of the mountingbracket 14. The E-rings 44 limit the extent of longitudinal movement ofthe diverter vane 12 relative to the mounting bracket 14 when mountedthereon.

In another embodiment, the first end 26 of the upright support 24 canhave an annular shoulder 48 which also limits the longitudinal movementof the diverter vane 12 relative to the mounting bracket 14. In stillanother embodiment, a screw or wing-nut (not shown) can be secured intothe upright support 24 of the mounting bracket 14 after sliding thediverter vane 12 onto the mounting bracket 14. Once again, the divertervane 12 is secured between the screw and the annular shoulder 48limiting the extent of longitudinal movement of the diverter vane 12relative to the mounting bracket 14. It should be noted that whilecertain manners of releasable securement of the diverter vane 12 to themounting bracket 14 has been described, using other means to secure thediverter vane 12 to the mounting bracket 14 are within the scope of thepresent invention.

In operation, the solenoid 16 moves the mounting bracket 14 and thediverter vane 12 to direct the articles to the predetermined, desiredlocation in response to commands from sensing and detecting equipment.If the mounting bracket 14 should become worn or broken, the mountingbracket 14 can be removed by loosening the screws. If the diverter vane12 should become worn or broken, the securement means can simply beremoved and the diverter vane 12 can be replaced.

The foregoing exemplary descriptions and the illustrative preferredembodiments of the present invention have been explained in the drawingsand described in detail, with varying modifications and alternativeembodiments being taught. While the invention has been so shown,described and illustrated, it should be understood by those skilled inthe art that equivalent changes in form and detail may be made thereinwithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, andthat the scope of the present invention is to be limited only to theclaims except as precluded by the prior art. Moreover, the invention asdisclosed herein, may be suitably practiced in the absence of thespecific elements which are disclosed herein.

1. A gate assembly for diverting substantially flat articles, the gateassembly comprising: a mounting bracket having an upright support memberand a mounting member secured to the upright support member; a divertervane having a slot for slidably receiving at least a portion of theupright support member of the mounting bracket; motion means secured tothe mounting bracket for selectively moving the combined mountingbracket and diverter vane thereby directing the articles to apredetermined desired location; wherein the slot of the diverter vanehas a substantially keyhole shaped configuration; and wherein the slotslidably receives at least a portion of the upright support member andat least a portion of the mounting member.
 2. The gate assembly of claim1 wherein the motion means has a post, and further comprising: mountingmeans associated with the mounting bracket for releasably securing themounting bracket to the post of the motion means.
 3. The gate assemblyof claim 1 wherein the motion means is a solenoid device.
 4. The gateassembly of claim 1 wherein the upright support member of the mountingbracket has a first end and a second end, and further comprising:securement means associated with the first end and the second end forreleasably securing the diverter vane to the upright support member ofthe mounting bracket.
 5. The gate assembly of claim 4 wherein thesecurement means includes a first groove about the first end of theupright support member of the mounting bracket and a second groove aboutthe second end of the upright support member of the mounting bracket,and further including a first clip positionable within the first grooveand a second clip positionable within the second groove.
 6. A gatedevice for diverting and directing articles in a sorting machine, thegate device comprising: a bracket member mounted to the sorting machine;a vane member mounted to the bracket member, the vane member removablefrom and mountable to the bracket member without removing the bracketmember from the sorting machine; wherein the combined bracket member andthe vane member are selectively movable to direct the articles to apredetermined desired location; wherein the bracket member has anupright support member and a mounting member secured to the uprightsupport member and the vane member has a slot for slidably receiving atleast a portion of the upright support member; wherein the slot of thevane member has a substantially keyhole shaped configuration; andwherein the slot slidably receives at least a portion of the uprightsupport member and at least a portion of the mounting member.
 7. Thegate device of claim 6 wherein the upright support member of the bracketmember has a first end and a second end, and further comprising:securement means associated with the first end and the second end forreleasably securing the vane member to the upright support member of thebracket member.
 8. The gate device of claim 7 wherein the securementmeans includes a first groove about the first end of the upright supportmember of the bracket member and a second groove about the second end ofthe upright support member of the bracket member, and further includinga first clip positionable within the first groove and a second clippositionable within the second groove.
 9. A method for replacing adiverter vane in a sorting machine, the method comprising: providing abracket having an upright support member and a mounting member securedto the upright support member; releasably mounting the diverter vane onat least a portion of the upright support member of the bracket;releasably securing the diverter vane on the bracket; forming asubstantially keyhole shaped slot on the diverter vane; directing theupright support member into the keyhole shaped slot thereby mounting thediverter vane on the bracket; and directing the upright support memberand at least a portion of the mounting member into the keyhole shapedslot.
 10. The method of claim 9, and further comprising: forming a firstgroove about a first end of the upright support member; forming a secondgroove about a second end of the upright support member; positioning afirst clip within the first groove; and positioning a second clip withinthe second groove.